Catalogue-card.



W. B. MBHL.

CATALOGUE CARD. APPLICATION IILBD M36. 26, 1908.

PatentdAug. 23,'1910.

STATES OF "WLTER B. MEHL, 0F NEWIONVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AS- SIGMENIS, T0 LIBRRY BUREAU, 01E BOSTON, MASSACHUSETJS, A CORPORATION Specification of Letters Patent. Pafented Aug. 23, 1910.

Application flled August 26, 1908. Serial No. 450,328.

To all whom tt may conccm:

Be it known that I, WALIER B. MEHL, of Newto'nville, in the count of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, ave invented certain new and usefiul Improvemerits in Catalogne-Cards, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to cards for card catalogues and indexes, having tabs projecting from their upper edges upon Which bers, words or other identifying characters are to} be inscribed. In using catalogues and indexes of this character the tabs are usually handled more frequently than any other partof the card and tend to become worn and soiled, so that the guiding marks and characters become more or less 1llegible, and the tabs break down and wear ont before the rest of the card. It has been proposed to protect the tabs of such cards by folding over them sheets of waterproof and transparentx1atefial such as oelluloid, so that the cards Will sufier less injury by handling, and yet the characters may bcxeasily seen. When such protective coverings are used they are trimmed oif flush with the ends of? the tabs, and sometimes also with the.upper ed es of the cards, leaving at their trimmed e ges a composite structure consisting of three la ers, the outer layers being the plies of the ceiiuloid covering and the inner one being the card itself which is usually of asteboard. The exposed edges of the car and celluloidbecome moist after a time by absor tionof moisture from the atmosphere and from the hands of the user While being handled, and in time the moisture causes the celluloid to separate from the tab and curl up at its edges; and as this action continues the pli eS of the celluloid and of the card itslf are gradually torn a art. To

overcome'theseob'ections it has een proposed by others w olly to close or seal the edges of the pasteboard tab with a waterpmof covering, and itis with devices of this chaiacter that the present invention is concerned.

The object of the invention is to rovide a new and useful covering of Sheet ce luloid or soma similar transparent waterproof material for inclosihg androtecting the tab not ony upon its fiat sur aces but upon ifs end an top edges.

In the accompanyihg d1awings which llustrate the invention,Figure 1 repre-' 'ing sho-wing the parts assembled, but before the covering and filler are tr1mmed; Fig. 4 is an elevation of the ard with its protective covering trimmfi and finished, and Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the finished articleon line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the :drawings, a represents an index or record card. The first step in the manufacture of the card is to out from one edge4thereof an integral tab 0, of dovetail shape as shown, to provide the undercut edges' or shoulders b 'at each end. of the tab. The dotted line la indicates the outline of this eut for-forming the dovetail shaped tab c. A filler piece d is out from a sheet of celluloid or similar aterproofing' material of the same thickness as the card a into the that the filler d engages the edges of the tab c both at the ends of the cab, where the ends of the notch fit the undercut edge or shoulder I) of the tab, and also at the top of the tab, where the filler extends along the top edge of the. tub, thus embracing the edgesof the tab at all sides. When the card a and the filler d have been p1aced together as shown in Fig. 2, a protctive cov ering e made of a'sheet of waterproof and transparent material, preferably a thin sheet of celluloid,'is folded over the edge of the tab and embraces betwee'n its plies the card and the filler et as shown in Fig. 3. The covering e extends beyond the edges of the'tab c both at the ends and top of the tab, the fold or crease of the coverm e being spaced from the top edge of the ta% so as to hold between it and the top edge off the tab that part of the filler d which' extends edge of the tab. It-will be seen that the ends of the filler (Z adjacent to the ends of its notch extend under the shoulders or undercut edges b of the tab thus locking the filler securely in place When held between the outer coverings e, and preVenting any possibility of its dislodgment even though the top edges of the covrings e w6re,d1sc0nnected instead of being connected by the fold. The parts may be seoured together by a suitable cernent. After the filler and outer covering 8 has been applied to the tab the end edges of said covering and filler may be trimmed ofi by dies into the form shown in Fig. 4.

I daim:

1. A catalogue or index card having an ntegral tab projecting from one edge thereof, said tab being of dovetail shape, a sheet of transparent, waterproof material covering eachfaee'of said tab and eXnding beyond the ends and top edge of the tab, and a filler. of similar material having a notch ont aWay to conform to the shape and size of the tab, inserted between the front and back plies of said covering and extending along the top edge as well as the end edges of said tab.

2. A catalogue or index card having an integral tab projeoting from one edge thereof, said tab being of dovetail shape, a sheet of transparent, waterproof material folded over the top edge of the tab so as to inclose the front and rear surfaces thereof, and extending beyond both the ends and to edge of the tab, whereby the fold is space from the top edge of the tab, and a filler of simi- 1ar material having a notch eut away to conform to the shape and size of the tab, inserted between the plis 'of said fold eu covering, incl0sing the end edges of the tab and extending along the top edge of the tab between it and the fold of the covering.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER B. MEHL. 

